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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · pitch · mouse · cold · stand · charge · field · scale

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — size or range
  5. charge — electricity
  6. stand — to bear
  7. field — a subject
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. charge — in control
  11. field — farmland
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. charge — a price
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. pitch — completely
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. scale — in music
  22. field — for sport
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mouse — for a computer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com